DMAVAHIGHLIGHTS

April 6, 2011

Story by Mark C. Olsen, DMAVA Public Affairs

Soldiers and Airmen of the New Jersey National Guard now have a place to turn when deployment medical issues threaten to overwhelm them.

The Healers and Heroes Pro-gram, also known as 2H, was unveiled by the Medical Soci-ety of New Jersey and the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs during a news conference at the State House in Trenton on April 5.

The idea is simple, create a network of New Jersey physi-cians who are in or have served

in the military and have them be available to returning ser-vice members.

“By using physicians with military experience, the Sol-diers and Airmen of the New Jersey National Guard will be reassured their doctor under-stands their needs,” said Maj. Gen. Glenn K. Rieth.

That shared experience of be-ing in the military can serve as the bridge between the service member and the medical com-munity.

During the 2H program’s first year, services will only be avail-able to New Jersey Guardsmen

who have deployed in the last 18 months.

Future plans include opening the program to all the reserve services.

Guardsmen will be able to speak confidentially to physi-cians about their health care is-sues and in turn the doctors will be able to direct the Soldier or Airman to the proper resource to address their problems.

While the goal of the pro-gram is to address any medi-cal issue the service member is suffering from, one area that is receiving special attention is post-traumatic stress disorder

(PTSD) and traumatic brain in-jury (TBI).

According to the National Center for PTSD’s Web site, PTSD symptoms usually start soon after the traumatic event, but they may not happen until months or years later. They also may come and go over many years.

Often referred to as the “invisible wounds”, a RAND Corporation Center for Military Health Policy study indicates that approximate-ly 20 percent of returning service members suffer from PTSD and another 18.5 percent are affected by some form of TBI.

Maj. Gen. Glenn K. Rieth, right, The Adjutant General, with, left to right, State Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Jr., Legislative Dist. 7; Dr. (Capt. Naval Reserve) Joseph Costabile; Brig. Gen. James J. Grant, Chief of the Joint Staff; Michael T. Kornett, CEO, Medical Society of NJ and Lt. Cols. Vincent L. and Vance J. Moss pose with the Healers

and Heroes poster during the press conference on April 5. The Medi-cal Society of New Jersey and the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs joined forces to announce the launch of the Healers and Heroes Program (2H) at a press conference at the New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton. Photo by Mark Olsen, NJDMAVA/PA

Healers and Heroes: connecting Guardsmen with military doctors

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DMAVA Highlights is published weekly by the Public Affairs Of-fice of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Department of Defense, the Army, the Air Force, the National Guard, Veterans Affairs or the state of New Jersey. Letters may be sent to: NJDMAVA, DMAVA Highlights, Public Affairs Office, PO Box 340, Trenton NJ 08625-0340. e-mail at pao@njdmava.state.nj.us.

New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans AffairsMaj. Gen. Glenn K. Rieth – The Adjutant GeneralBrig. Gen. James J. Grant – Director, Joint Staff Raymond Zawacki – Deputy Commissioner for Veterans AffairsCW2 Patrick Daugherty – Public Affairs OfficerStaff Sgt. Armando Vasquez - Public Affairs SpecialistSgt. Wayne Woolley – Public Affairs Specialist

Staff Sgt. Dewey Johnson, left, holds his daughter Ariann, age 2, and fellow member Sgt. Kenneth Colon has his daughter, 22-month old Ja-dyn, in his arms. Returning from deployment in Bosnia the 11 Guards-men of the 350th Finance Co. greeted their family members on Monday night April 4 at the USPFO cafeteria on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lake-hurst, N.J. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kryn P. Westhoven, JFHQ-PA)

Sgt. 1st Class Raymond Denson, an honor guard program representative with the New Jersey Army National Guard’s Honor Guards, speaks to Senior Airman Myra Eberwine, a 177th Fighter Wing member, about part-time employment opportunities during the Yellow Ribbon Education and Support Services Expo held at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Atlantic City on Feb. 27. The Yellow Ribbon program is an initiative sponsored by the Department of Defense and provides for three events within 90 days of the return of Soldiers and Airmen from a combat deployment.

Senator, veterans’ office to hostVeterans Information Day in May

The office of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and the Camden County Office of Veterans Affairs is hosting an event on May 18 at Camden County Boathouse from 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., to assist past and present veterans.

The event, Veterans Information Day, will have representatives from Philadelphia VA Medical Center; the Philadelphia VA Re-gional Office; Camden County Office of Veterans Affairs; New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs; Camden County College and more.

The intent of this event is to assist veterans with enrolling in any state run veteran programs that are available to them and to find out about any state benefits to which they are entitled.

The Camden County Boathouse is located at 7050 North Park Drive, Pennsauken, N.J.

For more information/questions about this event or to RSVP, please email Richard Locklear at Richard_Locklear@menendez.senate.gov or contact him at 856-757-5353.

The Home Front Hearts, Inc., in cooperation with Applebee’s in Milltown, N.J. will celebrate Month of the Military Child by host-ing Dining to Donate on April 14 from 11 a.m. to midnight at the Applebee’s restaurant there.

Dine at the restaurant and 10 percent of your bill will be donated to Home Front Hearts.

Home Front Hearts, Inc. is a non-profit organization whose mis-sion is to serve the families that serve our country by providing support and resources to the families of service members; increas-ing public awareness of the struggles and sacrifices of military families; and engaging both individuals and businesses in building communities that are responsive to the needs of these families.

The Applebee’s restaurant is located at Ryders Crossing Shop-ping Center between Milltown Road and Ryders Lane, Milltown.

Present the flyer, found on the last page of this issue of High-lights, to your server for your donation to count.

Questions regarding this program or for information on how to get involved with Home Front Hearts, please contact Randi S. Cairns, founder and executive director, at 732-698-2389 or via email at rscairns@homefronthearts.org.

Dine to Donate event helps children

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The contributions of military children are being celebrated across the globe at military instillations in April, which is designated as the Month of the Military Child.

This year’s Month of the Military Child is being celebrated with a theme of “Celebrate Military Children: The Strength of Our Fu-ture”.

Consequently, this year the New Jersey National Guard Fam-ily Programs Office will be thanking and honoring New Jersey’s military children by providing each child that signs up with paren-tal consent, their own Appreciation Package, which will include a certificate and an ID Kit.

Parents wishing to have their child receive his/her own package in the mail will need to provide the following information to Amanda Balas, NJ National Guard State Youth coordinator, via email to amanda.balas@us.army.mil;

1. Parent/Guardian Name:2. Military Member‘s Unit:3. Family Email Address:4. Child(ren) Name(s):5. Sex:6. Youth Birthdate:7. Youth Home Address:More than 1.7 million children under the age of 18 have at least

one parent serving in the armed forces. And it is estimated that more than 900,000 children have had one or both parents deployed multiple times.

Accordingly, garrison-level Child, Youth and School Services programs will hold special events to honor service members’ chil-dren. These events will stress the importance of providing children with quality services and support promised them through the Army Family Covenant, according to Installation Management Com-

mand officials. Installations of all services are honoring military children by

providing a month packed with special activities - arts and crafts shows, picnics, fishing derbies, carnivals, parades, block parties and other special activities - to acknowledge the unique contribu-tions they make.

The month long celebration, first held in 1986, reinforces to mili-tary children that they are, indeed, a key part of the armed forces community.

For example, last year, First Lady Michelle Obama noted: “As a grateful nation, it is our sacred responsibility to stand by our mili-tary children, just as they and their families stand by us.”

President Barack Obama, earlier this year spotlighted the impor-tance of military family support overall, recalling a trip to Afghan-istan in December 2010 where he spoke to troops, asking what he could do to better support them.

“Without missing a beat,” he said, “they looked me in the eye and they gave me their answer. It wasn’t about more equipment. It wasn’t about more resources on the battlefield. In fact, it wasn’t about them.”

“They said ... ‘Sir, take care of our families. If we know our families are all right back home, then we can do our jobs.’”

In late January, Obama unveiled a government plan to strengthen military family support, including the education and development of military children and expanding child care options for military parents.

Service members and their families, the president said, have done everything the nation has asked of them in this decade of war. Such commitment by the youngest members of the military community will be highlighted throughout Month of the Military Child, and their accomplishments will be on display for all to appreciate.

Month of the Military Child: Children also serve

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Veterans Outreach Schedule

April 7 New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home

524 North West Boulevard, Vineland, NJ 08360Medal ceremony only in Auditorium starting at 1:30 p.m.

May 7New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial

PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ 07777Outreach Event 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

NJ Vietnam Veterans Remembrance & medal ceremony 11 a.m.

May 21American Legion Post No. 65

Lake Ave & Holly Street, Metuchen, NJ 08840Outreach Event Only 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Seventh annual SGT Nutter RunThe 7th Annual 2011 SGT Nutter Run will be held on Sunday

May 15 at the National Guard Training Center, Sea Girt, N.J., at 10:30 a.m.

Sgt. Sam Nutter (1/28/66-1/2/2005) was a member of the New Jersey Army National Guard and served in the U.S Navy. Each year the NJ ARNG Officer Candidate School holds a benefit 5k run in his memory and 100 percent of the proceeds raised are donated to a NJ ARNG family in need. This year’s proceeds will go to the family of Sgt. Michael Suplee, a current NJ ARNG member whose wife was diagnosed with Lupus.

Registration is currently open at the organization’s Web site: http://www.nutterrun.org/registration.html or you can register on the day of the event beginning at 8:30 a.m.

The SGT Sam Nutter Organization is a registered non-profit organization which exists solely to benefit the lives of National Guard families in need.

Current Guardlife issue available onlineThe New Jersey National Guard Magazine “Guardlife” - Volume

35 Issue No. 2 is now available on the Internet in a user friendly online Web version at the following Web address: http://nj.gov/military/publications/guardlife/volume35no2/index.html.

The “Hometown Team” magazine Guardlife provides up to date information on the happenings within the New Jersey Army and Air National Guard.

For all the current news on our Soldiers and Airmen take a look at the new issue today.

To view past issues of Guardlife magazine online you can visit the DMAVA Publication homepage at:

http://www.nj.gov/military/publications/.

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - The National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey Lawrenceville Annex recently opened an exhibit to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the United States Armed Forces’ adoption of the .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.

Designed by John Browning and selected in 1911 as the standard sidearm for Soldiers, sailors, and Marines, the Colt M1911 was used in World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Today, it remains in use by soldiers of elite Special Forces units.

“This sidearm is considered by many the greatest military sidearm ever produced,” said Colonel (Ret.) Jon Gribbin, the museum’s resident expert on firearms. “In fact, at least 56 Medal of Honor recipients earned their medal while using the M1911 in battle.”

The exhibit at the Lawrenceville Annex features several historic M1911 variants from the museums extensive weapons collection. The display also contains a history of the pistol; a biography of the famous designer, weapon characteristics; a field-stripped weapon, holsters and web belts from WWII and Korea, as well as a clip and ammunition; an original manual; and a GI cleaning kit.

The Lawrenceville Annex is open on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Groups may call Colonel (Ret.) Donald Kale, Curator Emeritus, at 609-530-6802 to arrange tours by appointment.

For more information, please visit the museum’s Web page at http://www.nj.gov/military/museum/.

Museum to exhibit M1911

VFW to host fishing tripAttention all fishing aficionado, the Berlin VFW ANMAC Post

6253 is hosting a fishing trip off the bay near Margate City on May 21.

Cost of the event is $68 per person and will include roundtrip bus, food, drinks, bait and tackle.

Tickets are available at the hall’s Canteen any Friday night or by contacting the VWF at 609-381-8057 or 856-229-3730.

For more information about the Berlin VFW ANMAC Post 6253, please visit their Web site at http://www.berlinvfw.com.

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Bernardsville – The U.S. Army Jazz Knights will perform a free concert on Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the Bernards High School Performing Arts Center in Bernardsville. The Jazz Knights are one of four components of the United States Military Academy Band - the U.S. Army’s oldest active band and the oldest unit at West Point, tracing its roots to the Revolutionary War.

Members of the group are graduates of some of America’s most prestigious music schools and are recruited and selected through a competitive audition process specifically for service in the United States Military Academy Band at West Point.

Bringing over three decades of musical excellence to their audi-ences, the West Point Band’s Jazz Knights present the best in big band favorites, popular music, and original compositions and ar-rangements for jazz ensemble.

As a part of their education mission, the Jazz Knights’ visit to Bernardsville will include workshops for both the Bernardsville Middle School Jazz Ensemble and Bernards High School Jazz En-semble

Free tickets will be available beginning March 1 at Bernards High School, Bernardsville Middle School and outlets throughout Bernardsville, Bedminster and Basking Ridge or by e-mailing bh-sjazz@verizon.net.

Army ‘Jazz Knights’ Jersey boundWest Point ensemble to perform

Incomming commander, Col. James F. Stenson, left, accepts the col-ors and command of the 254th Regiment from Brig. Gen. James J. Grant, Chief of the Joint Staff to the Adjutant General of New Jersey, during a change of command ceremony at the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt, N.J. on April 3. Stenson assumed command of the 254th Regiment from outgoing commander Col. Walter L. Alvarado. (Photo by Spc. Robert Neill, JFHQ-PA)

The Military Transportation Association will host a military ve-hicle show and militaria sale at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ on the weekend of April 16 - 17.

Historic military vehicles from World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and the Gulf Wars will be on display and more than 75 vendors will be selling military related clothing, equipment, and vehicle parts and accessories.

The show is open to the public. The show will be open Saturday from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Sunday 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Food and parking are available at the show. Admission is $5.00 and parking is FREE! The Sussex County

Fairgrounds is located on Plains Road in Augusta, just off Route 206 in Sussex County, New Jersey.

Military vehicle show at Sussex County Fairgrounds

NJARNG to choose two Soldiers for FLW Bass Fishing Tournament

The New Jersey National Guard Recruiting & Retention Com-mand will be selecting two Army National Guard service members to represent the state at the FLW Bass Fishing Tournament at Po-tomac River, Md. as a National Guard co-angler during the tourna-ment scheduled June 1 – 5.

As an NG co-angler, the selected Soldiers will have an opportu-nity to win cash prizes. Consequently, Soldiers must show a very keen interest and passion for fishing, as they will be fishing along-side professional anglers that compete as a livelihood and take these tournaments seriously.

Furthermore, a stipulation for these Soldiers is they cannot be on official duty during the tournament. Soldiers must take annual leave if on AGR or ADOS status.

Commanders or supervisors wishing to nominate a Soldier should contact Sgt. 1st Class Melanie R. Rowton, marketing and advertising NCOIC at NJ NG Recruiting & Retention Command, via e-mail at Melanie.rowton@us.army.mil or by phone at 732-974-5940.

Suspense date to fill the two slots is May 1.For more information or rules of the tournament, please visit their

Web site at: http://www.flwoutdoors.com/bassfishing/flw/rules/

E-mail your Highlights submissions to wayne.woolley@njdmava.state.nj.us OR armando.vasquez@

njdmava.state.nj.us

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